Use CRYPT_GEN_RANDOM() to Create a Cryptographic, Random Number in SQL Server

In SQL Server, you can use the CRYPT_GEN_RANDOM() function to return a cryptographic, randomly-generated number. The number is generated by the Cryptographic Application Programming Interface (CAPI).

CAPI is a Microsoft Windows platform specific application programming interface included with Microsoft Windows operating systems that provides services to enable developers to secure Windows-based applications using cryptography.

The CRYPT_GEN_RANDOM() function accepts two arguments: the length (required), and a seed (optional).

The return value is varbinary(8000).

Continue reading

Make an Object DIE in SQL Server

In SQL Server, if you try to drop an object that doesn’t exist, you’ll get an error. If you don’t want to get an error, you’ll need to add some extra code to check for the existence of the object.

Prior to SQL Server 2016, you needed to add an IF statement that queried the relevant system objects to find out whether or not the object existed.

From SQL Server 2016, you can now use a new, cleaner method to check if an object exists. We’ll call it DROP IF EXISTS (otherwise known as “DIE”).

Continue reading